Drawing mechanism for spinning and roving frames



Nov. 3, 1953 P. B. TARBox ET AL 2,657,434

DRAWING MECHANISM FOR SPINNING AND ROVING FRAMES Filed Oct. 2o, 1951 2 Sheets-sheet 1 54' ,f A 44' l 3 1 l 6 27 nu 41 (8 a zo 357/1/ 4| Il I r// MM2@ T [-2. N1/71;" NT0R5' Q 7 )Bymdw C. dudu/v? 29 3 3f? A www 3.9 40 53 Y QTTORA/Es/ Nov. 3, 1953 A P. B. TARBox ET AL 2,657,434

DRAWING MECHANISM FOR SPINNING AND ROVING FRAMES Filed Oct. 20, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 177i .3 l INVENToRs PLL/4 72M Byvdn 67mm ,Q TORNEV Patented Nov. 3, 1**953 DRAWING MECHANISM FOR SPINNING AND ROVING FRAMES Philip B. Tarbox and Gordon C. Anderson, Saco, Maine, assignors to Saco-Lowell Shops, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Maine Application October 20, 1951, Serial No. 252,291

7 Claims.

This invention relates to drawing mechanisms of the type used in spinning and roving frames but more particularly to drawing mechanisms having a roll weighting arm overlying drafting rolls, such a mechanism for example being shown in Gwaltney et al. U. S. Patent No. 2,565,228.

In any mechanism of this type a major problem is the manner of maintaining the top rolls in proper parallel alignment with their cooperating, bottom rolls so that each top roll cover or cot will bear on the-corresponding fluted section of its respective bottom roll for substantially the entire length of the cover, except in so far as that contact may be modied by the presence of the sliver being drafted. When this paralleled relationship is disturbed to such an extent that the axis of the top roll and the bottom roll no longer lie in a common plane, then the contact between the two rolls, which theoretically is approximately a line contact, becomes shortened, due to the shift from a parallel to an angular relationship. If this parallel relationship is seriously disturbed, then the drafting operation becomes erratic, and highly unsatisfactory.

Another problem arises from the necessity of uniformly weighting the overlying weighting arm and the roll supporting bar, particularly since the arm and thebar must render freelyr back and forth relative to one another, and yet the weighting arm must be weighted to provide at the same time a uniform pressure on the drafting rollers.

Accordingly, the present invention is directed, to a drafting mechanism of the overlying weighting arm type for spinning and rovingframes in which the weighting arm and roll supporting bar are allowed freely to render back and forth, yet one in which the weighting pressure will be at all times uniform. It is a feature of the invention that uniform weighting will be provided in spite of variations in the mechanism employed.

The nature of the invention will be readily understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view, mainly in vertical section, showing a drafting mechanism embodying this invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front sectional elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a view of a part of the mechanism of Fig. l.

Referring to the drawings, the construction there shown comprises bottom front and rear rolls 2 and 3 respectively, top rolls 4 and 5 cooperating with said respective bottom rolls to perform the drafting operation, and an intermediate control mechanism including a bottom roll 6 driving an apron l, the latter ybeing guided over an apron bar 8 and held stretched by a tensioning roll It. Resting on the apron 'I is a top roll I2. Suitable clearers, front top roll clearer 9, and intermediate and back roll clearer II, are provided.

The top rolls with which the present invention is mainly concerned consists of the front and rear drawing rolls 4 and 5. The front roll ll and roll 5 each comprise an arbor IE on which are rotatably mounted two roll bodies II-I'I, thus providing two connected roll sections closely adjacent to each other and in coaxial relationship. Respective holders I4, best shown in Fig. 4, having upturned end portions with holes I3 therein, and downturned side portions with notches I3, are provided for holding rolls 4 and 5. The rolls d and 5 are each supported in its respective holder lli by a spring I5 which holds the arbor I6 against V-notches I8 in the lower portion of said holder. The holder for front rolls li is supported on supporting bar 22 for axial movement about said bar, since said bar passes through holes I3 in said holder, while the holder I4 for the rear roll may have square holes fitting the square rear portion of bar 22. The holders are each maintained in position along bar 22, forward holder I by flanges I9 on said bar and rear holder I4 by a clamp 20 having a set screw ZI to permit adjustment of said holder along said bar.

The supporting bar 22 for the rolls is itself loosely supported in a Weighting arm 24 which is pivotally mounted on a fixed rod 25 mounted on a series of roll stands like that shown at 26 so that the arm 24 can be swung from its normal position into an upward inoperative position, said bar 22 being generally parallel to the arm 2li. A lug 23 at the end of bar 22 is adapted Ato t into a notch I8 on a washer 52 fixed on rod 25 releasably to retain said arm and bar in inoperative raised position by engagement of said lug in said notch. The rear end of bar 22 is slidable along pivot pin 30 so that the lug 23 can be moved into and out of notch 48 simply by raising the rear end of bar 22 With respect to the arm 24.

The loose supporting connections betweenthe ment of the bar relative to the arm as well asa? serving when necessary to 1ift,the.bar..with its.

associated top rolls by means of `the' armxwhenzr;

the latter is elevated. At its rearward end the bar is secured to the arm.;somewhat.-loosely by 1 means of a pin 3U.

The weighting pressure is applied to the .ar-nr 24 by a pressed levermechanism includ-.1.`

ing a lever 3I pivoted at 29' on an adjustable pivot member 32, the upper end of said=.lever- 3l.;

being connected to the down-turned forward end 2-.o,f.f..arm ,;24..bya link,- 33 hooked to the upper end of lever 3| and into a hole 4I in the .lower portioniof-down-turned end 2l. below kthe-hole 28;.retaining-bar 22..v The connecting link. 33.is forward oithefrontrolls 2 and 4 and henceenf tirelyoutnf. theiway of .the drafting rolls,. yetis easilyaccessibleto. the operator.. The adjustable pivot Inember32. is retained in adjusted position in. ,a block 34-:at tached,to. the rear vertical ,face. of .theroller beam. 35 by a set screw 49 which i'lts the tappedhole'in blockand bears against pivot member- 32;H The roller beam has a hole 5e therein to permit .adjustment .of pivot member 32. A clamping screw t-extends through a hole in set screw 4!)n into a tapped hole in pivot member 32 to provide a means; for clamping the set screw 49-in adjustedl position. A-spring retaining rod 3-5-is attached-to lever 3I below said 1ivot meinber32,saidrod extendingthrough a recess 3'Iin thfblock-34vandhaving a disk 38 attachedthereto'tolretain coil=springs39 and `iii between said'v disk. and. the rear` end of Asaid recess.- The forward. end ofzrool. 36:.which extends through a hole inrollerxbeamfis provided with suitableindicia i fonieasyf,visualialignment with the` flat vertical ,surfaceofgroller beam 35, such indicia, for instance maytake the iorm ofv circumferential lines.

ward.. pressure on weightingparmV 24. -Therextremef lower end of lever 3 I..may be provided with a iiat portion; 53 to .permit easy manual. release .of weighting, so that thelink 33 may be quickly unhooked from lever 3I by an operator, the forward position of link v33 making it easily acces-.1

.sible to be unhookedfrom said lever.

In order to adjust the weighting mechanism.

to provide for minor` inaccuracies in manufacture,j the pivot member 32 is adjusted by moving it inA or out until the-desired line 41 on the end of spring retaining rod 36 is in alignment with' the vertical face'of roller beam 35, the vertical face providinganv-index for `settingl the lines 4Iy on said rod'. Thus the 'distance betweenthe 'upf per end` of lever BI-Landthe arm 24 may be sety to...a uniform. distance inr spite of mechanical variations. Similarly; the indexlines 41 Ymay correspondto.defined-pressures., so that the weighty ing.of top rollsmand may be easily and-quickly varied from .one known. weight to another whenevensuch. is desirable.

Transmission ofethe 4 pressure from the 4arm Y 24 Y to the. .roll l supporting Vbar 2 2 takes place throughA a rollen-42 having :its :axiselbetween the arm 'and the bar, said roller being rotatably mounted on a spring wire 43 which extends generally parallel to the axis of the bar between the arm and the bar. The wire is mounted on the arm 24 at a point well behind and spaced from said roller, suchfwire :mounting permittinghsubstantial bodily.. lateral-movement of .the roller v42l 'relative to both the arm 24 and bar 22 as the arm and bar are moved relatively to one another, and with surprisingly lowfriction even though no lubricantwhich'mighvbe picked up by the fibers being drafted-is necessary. The roller 42 bears againstztherflatfhardened plate 54 attached to the flatfundera-surface of arm 24 and against a lattened{upper-surface 44 on bar 22, providing freerelative. lateral movement between said attened surfaces on` said arm and said bar. Distributionof this pressure between the rolls 4 and 5 can be varied by adjusting the roller 42 lengthwise of the bar-.22-For this purpose-theroller wire. i3 .is xed in.. a holder 451slidably mounted on the ,arm 24.and..can .be lockedin any'adjusted posi-tion by .thescrew 46.

Some freedomof movement .of each top vroll in the. plane passingthrough its axis and that of its respective. bottom `roll .is necessary. in .order to. enable bothcotsto bear equally on thetwo. strands ofy sliver. which customarily are fedy si. multaneously between the two. top roll sections and their respective/bottom roll sections., Provi-` sion for this rocking.` movement is. made by permitting front roll holders I4 to rock .freely around the bar 22, since said bar is' circular at the forward portion thereof and the holes in said front holder I4 are also circular. The bar has a limited freedom of rocking movement around a longitudinal yaxis by=virtueof the'pivot-pin 30, fittingv ratherA loosely inl the conical hole formed through therearward end ofthe bar.

Thus front-top rolls l can rock around'the axis of the..bar.22to. adjust .themselvesevenly to-theirrespective bottomrolls andto equalize the pressureof both cots of'eachv top roll onthebosses 'of its bottom roll. However, the mounting of-'theV bar 1 22.*' is .provided not only. foi-the purpose j ust described but, more importantly; :in orderito enable theH top Vrolls automatically to remain. in

proper alignment .with theirrespective bottom.`

rolls.` Thatisfif the top rolls are `misaligned with-reference to. their bottom rolls, such; misalignment `will correct itself automatically if the mounting of the top rolls is such as to permit such correction. vItis forthis self-aligning purpose that the.pivotal connection hasrbeen provided ,between..the bar .22.I and the pivot `pin Silattherearward endpfthebarv-v While this con-` structionpermits therforward .end-.of thebar to swinglaterallyfar enough. to carrythefront top roll 4 out of alignment with. its bottom.rol1 2,'it also permits it to.swing.back.againinto. correct alignment, and the, action `of. one roll on theother tendsjto maintain. them automatically in properly aligned relationship. If,v for example,"'the`top"rol1 is 'deliberately misalignedby swinging it transversely out of .the plane common to the axes-of'the'two rolls' while the machine. is running, theinteraction of one roll'on the other will restore the top rollto its correctly aligned relationship to thev bottom roll.

The Inovel spring wire-'mounted roller, together` with the novel adjustable spring weighting applied tothe forwardendvof the weighting arm is believed new, and provides a muchsimpler and morel friction-freeY arrangement than heretofore, and hence one in which" the weighting is much more uniform, particularly as provided by the adjustable weighting lever device which affords easy adjustment of the weighting pressure, so that all of the drafting mechanisms mounted on a spinning or roving frame may be easily and quickly adjusted to uniform pressure.

While we have herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of our invention, it will be evident that the invention may be embodied in other forms, and may be applied to drawing mechanisms, differing from that shown, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. In a drawing mechanism for spinning and roving frames, the combination with a plurality of pairs of top and bottom drawing rolls positioned to act successively on a sliver, a weighting arm mounted for swinging movements in a vertical plane toward and from a position overlying said bottom rolls, a bar supported in a generally parallel relationship to said arm, means loosely connecting together the forward end of said bar with said arm, a plurality of holders mounted on said bar and supporting said respective top rolls, means for applying roll weighting pressure to said arm, and an antifriction roller interposed between said arm and said bar for transmitting the pressure of said arm through said bar to said top rolls, said roller being mounfed for substantial bodily lateral movement relative to both said arm and said bar.

2. A drawing mechanism as claimed in claim 1 in which said roller is rotatably mounted on a spring wire.

3. A drawing mechanism as claimed in claim 1 in which said bar has a lug on the rear portion thereof adapted to engage a fixed notch to releasably retain said bar and said arm in raised position.

4. In a drawing mechanism for spinning and roving frames, the combination with a plurality of pairs of top and bottom drafting rolls positioned to act successively on a sliver, roll weighting lever means pivotally mounted at the rear end thereof for swinging movement in a vertical plane to carry top rolls toward and from a position overlying said bottom rolls, and means for applying roll weighting pressure to a forward portion of said lever means including and connected thereto a Spring pressed lever having a bodily adjustable pivot.

5. A drawing mechanism as claimed in claim 4 including a link between said spring pressed lever and the forward end of said weighting means.

6. A drawing mechanism as claimed in claim 5 in..which said link is releasably mounted on the forward end of said weighting means.

7. In a drawing mechanism for spinning and roving frames, the combination with a plurality of pairs of top and bottom drafting rolls positioned to act successively on a sliver, roll weighting lever means pivotally mounted at the rear end thereof for swinging movement in a vertical plane to carry top rolls toward and from a position overlying said bottom rolls, and means for applying roll weighting pressure to a forward portion of said lever means including and connected thereto a coil spring-pressed lever having a bodily adjustable pivot, and also including spring-retaining means having visible indicia for adjustably setting the same.

PHILIP B. TARBOX. GORDON C. ANDERSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 927,539 Houghton July 13, 1909 1,490,851 Reid Apr, 15, 1924. 1,623,688 Lawton Apr. 5, 1927 2,525,647 Burnham et a1. Oct. 10', 1950 2,565,228 Gwaltney et al Aug. 21, 1951,I 

